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Utilising Social Media Ethically when Recruiting

February 15th, 2012 by Steph

social media icons

There’s no doubt that social media has been adopted by the recruitment industry as a valuable hiring tool. LinkedIn is the more prominent social media site within recruitment with many employers using it as a means for scouting talent. But other major social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are also used by employers and job seekers alike, to source the ideal employee and land the perfect job.

Social profiles can say a lot about a candidate, in some instances they can resemble a CV – providing you with information of work history, interests and any mutual correspondents. Before almost every British home established a Broadband connection, personal and background information on candidates wasn’t so readily available. You often had to rely on the words on applicants’ CVs and references from past employers. Nowadays however, a whole world of personal information seems to be easily accessible – you can even see what a candidate got up to last night or did for their friend’s birthday.

Whilst social media is an excellent recruiting tool, how do you define the fine line between using it ethically and abusing personal information to scupper a candidate’s chances of getting hired?

When Social Media Compromises Recruitment

Facebook has been under a great deal of scrutiny over privacy settings recently, as users have little control or knowledge over what aspects of their personal information are publicly viewable. The fact that this information is so accessible has had a significant impact on the recruitment process.

In the past, your first impression of an applicant (after reading their CV) was a face-to-face or in some instances, telephone interview. This allowed candidates to prepare in advance, research your company and impress their interviewer. Nowadays that’s all changed, as some employers research their candidates on social media sites before seeing them at interview – this can severely taint the recruitment process as first impressions have already been made, often without the candidate even knowing.

Many argue that this is incredibly unethical and renders the recruitment process unfair; to establish equality and fairness when hiring it’s essential that every applicant starts with a clean slate. One thing to bear in mind here is that people generally behave differently at home than they do at work, and often treat their social media profiles like their virtual “living room”. If a candidate provides you with details of their social profiles then you can use them to your advantage; if they don’t then it’s best to leave their personal profiles well alone.

When Social Media Enhances Recruitment

Social media can be an extraordinarily valuable tool for recruiting when used ethically. You can use your business’s social profiles to alert Facebook fans and Twitter followers of current job vacancies, they can then visit the online recruitment company and apply for the position. This can help you to receive applications from people who have a genuine interest in and knowledge about your company.

Social media sites are an excellent platform for communicating with candidates. They’re far less corporate than an email, and many people check their Facebook account more frequently than their emails. They may also be more easily accessible on mobile devices as many social media sites have apps which are optimised for mobile use. Some email platforms aren’t as easily accessible on smart phones, meaning candidates may not check them as frequently or have access to them whilst on-the-go.

Here at Blue Octopus, we’re grasping social media as an additional recruitment tool. If you decide to start your quest for a new staff member with us your vacancy will get pushed out through our Facebook and Twitter profiles. This means hundreds of job seekers who’ve followed and liked our profiles will receive the update of your vacancy and have the option to apply. We also have profiles for employers. You can follow or like us to receive industry news and updates, alerts of new posts published on the Blogtopus and engage in general recruitment banter.

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Posted in Recruiters, Recruitment |

Engage: The Visionary all-seeing Recruitment System from Blue Octopus

March 9th, 2011 by Jamie Rock

Blue Octopus, the no nonsense flat fee recruitment company has developed a visionary recruitment system specially created and designed for its clients to have an all seeing instantaneous view of all recruitment activity.

Uniquely, Engage Recruitment Technology™, allows a total and instantly updated overview of all job applicants: which to pursue, which to discard and which to put on hold. And it doesn’t stop there, each candidate’s details can be quickly accessed and it is ingeniously simple to use so there is no down time or expensive training.

Each client of Blue Octopus can have a tailor-made system which ensures they get just what they need. The old, agonising process of filtering paper applications is now firmly in the dustbin. Applicants apply online, get screened in the first instance and are managed through the recruitment process via the innovative Engage Recruitment Technology™. There is an effective traffic light system which takes minutes to assess.

Blue Octopus Joint Founder and Director, Chris Coleman says: “We have developed our Engage Recruitment Technology over the last few months specifically based on what our clients have told us they need to run an efficient HR and recruitment department. We tailor each system to absolutely match their requirements to ensure they have a highly efficient and speedy solution.”

Already one of the UK’s largest bed retailers, Sleepmasters, has bought into Engage and now use it to maintain its 650 strong workforce for recruiting. It currently has over 150 stores and a network of 4 distribution centres in England, Wales and Ireland, with its HQ in Accrington, all of which will be integrated into their new recruitment system.

Noel Jolly, Head of HR, Sleepmasters, says: “Sleepmasters has used E-recruitment as its primary source of filling vacancies for the past 5 years. We have found it essential for a retail business like ours to effectively recruit at the speed and in the quantity we need to remain successful and a leader in our field. Although systems have developed dramatically recently, Blue Octopus has revolutionised the way we now operate. By simply listening to what we need, they built a system that perfectly fits like our business and is of immense benefit, providing the key to employment success.

He continues “Our key issues and pressures were taken extremely seriously by the Blue Octopus programming team, with speed, flexibility and simplicity taking priority. We have a system that has reduced spend and crucially the time spent on recruitment for our Sales Managers. 2011 is the first year of the last eight where we have entered our busiest trading period fully staffed. The team at Blue Octopus has played a truly significant part with its levels of commitment, professionalism and advice, second to none, and are proud to say that Blue Octopus is our recruitment partner.”

Blue Octopus Software Solutions, a division of Blue Octopus Recruitment Limited is run by Talvinder Nagra along with his brother Sandeep. It has developed Engage Recruitment Technology™ and maintains the internal sales and support systems within the Company and provides the design and implementation of integrated careers websites for clients.

For a free consultation on Blue Octopus’ Engage Recruitment Technology™ please contact Chris Coleman or Talvinder Nagra on 0845 671 1189 or use the Blue Octopus contact form.

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Posted in News, Recruiters, Recruitment |

Modern Recruitment – The Benefits of Flat Fee Recruitment

March 7th, 2011 by Jamie Rock

Recruitment is an ever changing practice and over the last few decades has consequently become a consistently evolving standalone industry. As techniques develop and the power of the internet as a recruitment tool begins to exert its force to an increasingly greater extent, new schools of recruitment methodology have formed. Modern day recruitment is a much more elaborate and targeted process than simply placing an advert in the jobs section of the newspaper, similarly;  choosing the best form of recruitment for your company can be a complicated undertaking given the vast differences in technique, practices and price.

The core factor to look at if you are comparing the relative merits of different recruitment organisations is value. Value in terms of the best candidate at the best possible price, as opposed to simply opting for inconsistent quality and service but at the lowest possible cost. At the other end of the spectrum, laying out tens of thousands of pounds for a new director through a headhunting agency will not necessarily ensure that you get a better person for the job. In the majority of instances flat fee recruitment (also known as fixed fee recruitment) will turn out to be the most cost effective way of filling individual roles or multiple positions with the best possible candidates.

Flat fee recruitment (as the name suggests) is a service which is performed for clients for an arranged fixed cost and is ideal for companies of all sizes. The pre-established set fee ensures that the recruitment process falls firmly within budget and similarly; those organisations who are looking to fill more than one role don’t have to pay any extra if they chose to employ any number of candidates sourced by the fixed fee campaign.

As flat fee recruiters, at Blue Octopus we work more closely with the client and launch fresh, carefully planned advertising campaigns through relevant job boards and online and offline versions of major publications. In contrast to many ‘industry specific’ recruitment agencies who build a pool of candidates within a certain sector who they then attempt to sell to companies for a percentage of the new employee’s salary for their first year – fixed fee recruitment organisations act 100% in the best interests of the client and generate new applications in each instance.

For smaller companies or those operating on a particularly tight recruitment budget flat fee recruitment allows them absolute budgetary control to ensure that they are not spending more than they are comfortable to do so. Whilst larger companies are also likely to enjoy this benefit, they are most probably going to be even more drawn to the idea of paying a set fee as opposed to a potentially huge sum as a percentage of a new employee’s salary. Companies of all sizes and turnovers will surely enjoy the benefit of being able to allocate resources to more pressing business requirements by outsourcing their recruitment to experts rather than having to deal with it in-house.

If would like to discuss the flat fee recruitment service we provide with one of our experts then click here and fill in your details so that we can get back to you.

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Posted in Blue Octopus, News, Recruiters |

Job Creation in 2011

February 23rd, 2011 by Jamie Rock

online recruitment

The team behind the Barclays Corporate Job Creation Survey 2011 have announced the findings of their recent study into the job creation intentions of UK businesses – and the results look potentially promising. Having considered the answers of five hundred executives from UK businesses of varying sizes, the survey has shone some light onto prospective hiring plans across a range of sectors and drawn the following conclusions.

Regional:

  • 58% of companies in the North of England intend to create jobs during the course of 2011; provided they see an upturn in sales.
  • Of the proposed roles to be created in the North; two-thirds are anticipated to be at a junior to middle management level or skilled labour.
  • 85% of the executives from North based organisations were found to be of the opinion that growth in sales will be the precursor to the creation of new jobs, as opposed to the other way round.

Nationwide:

  • Around 85% of the businesses spoken to with turnover in excess of £500million per annum expressed that they intend to create full time positions during the course of the year.
  • Smaller organisations (with turnover up to £5million per annum) were less optimistic than their larger counterparts. Of those asked, 41% were confident that they would be creating new jobs in 2011.
  • Of the 41% of smaller businesses with intention to offer new positions – only half were expecting these roles to be of a fulltime nature.

So, What Does This Mean?

Although it appears that not all companies are preparing to recruit  for fulltime positions in the immediate future, and also that companies in the North are for the most part only looking to do so if they experience an upturn in revenue: these findings should certainly induce some confidence overall. As the economy at large is beginning to haul its way out of recession, it is highly likely that many businesses will indeed find themselves experiencing more sales than in previous years and consequently will be looking at job creation to sustain their growth.

Graduates in the North should also look at these findings with a sense of optimism given the proposed areas for job creation. Junior management positions will be hotly fought over but provided enough are created, skilled graduates stand a good chance of making headway along their career path. Similarly, the proposed requirement for skilled labour should bolster the options for those of a vocational training background. At the other end of the spectrum, public sector workers facing redundancy may not have quite as much to be confident about – the survey also found that around a third of Northern companies would not look to employ an ex-public sector worker.

Although this survey does of course only represent the views of a small portion of the huge number of companies in the UK; the outlook does seem to be rosy for the most part – provided businesses experience the growth to cover the cost of job creation.

If you’re looking to bring new staff onboard this year or would simply like to discuss the feasibility of doing so then please get in touch with our expert recruitment team.

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Posted in News, Recruiters, Recruitment |

Employing a New Member of Staff: When’s the Right Time to Add to the Team?

February 22nd, 2011 by Jamie Rock

new employee wanted

As a company begins to increase their turnover and consequently their workload they will soon get to the point where they start to struggle to keep up with demand using just their existing resources. For many companies it is human resources which are the first to feel the strain. To keep companies working effectively and efficiently it is vital that there are enough staff to handle the workload and that employees are performing the tasks which most benefit the company and play to their strengths.

In order to assess whether your organisation is in a position where employing a new member of staff is the best option it’s worth considering the following factors:

Can You Afford Them?

The single most important (and it must be said – obvious) thing to consider is whether you can budget for a new member of staff. If you have the relevant orders or contracts in to guarantee the necessary revenue then there are no problems – if however your income is unconfirmed then you will have to carefully consider the potential worst case scenario and ensure that you would still be able to cover the additional expenditure of an extra name on the payroll.

Just How Urgent Is an Addition to Your Staff?

At the other end of the spectrum is the consideration as to whether failure to bring in a new member of staff will be detrimental to your company’s income. If your company is experiencing rapid growth which threatens to over-burden the existing workforce then choosing not to recruit could be incredibly costly in terms of lost business. Sometimes making the decision sooner rather than later can make or break a company.

What Exactly Do You Need?

Once you’ve established the financial viability and business necessity of the addition of a fresh face to your workforce, it’s important to work out precisely what position it is that needs filling. This may sound obvious, but sometimes the initially obvious choice isn’t necessarily the most effective. If for instance a new manager seems to be the requirement then first consider internal promotions and the employment of a new starter in a more junior position – sometimes an internal re-organisation can result in greatly improved efficiency. In addition to this, a promotion from within can be great for overall staff morale.

What Are You Looking For In Your New Recruit?

Having decided upon the position you wish to fill it’s imporhttp://www.blueoctopus.co.uk/blogtopus/wp-admin/post-new.phptant to consider the attributes you require from your new employee. Although there will always be the obvious requirements: well-motivated, punctual etc – different positions demand different strengths. Carefully consider precisely what tasks your new starter will have to undertake and from that starting point draw up a list of traits which will aid them in the performance of these duties.

Talk to Blue Octopus

Recruiting a member of staff can be a time and labour intensive process. If you would like to discuss your requirements with experts then please get in touch with our recruitment team – whether you’re just looking for some advice or would like us to handle the entire process for you: we’re here to help and ensure that you find the perfect fit for your company.

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Posted in Blue Octopus, Recruiters |

The Role of Social Media in Online Recruitment

February 15th, 2011 by Jamie Rock

Twitter Recruitment

Following on from our previous post about developments in our level of engagement with social media platforms, it seemed a good time to go into a little bit of depth about just why we believe social media to be an essential recruitment tool in our ever more digitised society.

Blogging has been with us for many years now and is an exercise which is undertaken by individuals, small businesses, giant corporations and all manner of authors in between. It allows for the blogger to share their thoughts, views and news with interested parties and in doing so make their voice heard – whatever the subject matter. The modern social network takes this personal soapbox to its logical destination: allowing users to share as much or as little information about their daily life as they wish and to do so amongst friends, like-minded individuals or the world at large.

It’s only relatively recently that brands and businesses have started to truly embrace social media as a means of interaction with their customers and clients. Twitter especially allows for a social media profile to double up as a customer service channel – with the ‘@’ symbol serving as a means of direct communication. There’s no doubting the usefulness of Twitter and Facebook for all manner of organisations due to their dual purpose as interaction tool and information sharing tool. Social networks take on a whole new level of functionality however when utilised in online recruitment.

The key to effective recruitment is reaching the right potential applicants for each job role. At Blue Octopus we’ve always put this at the forefront of our method by posting expertly constructed job descriptions and candidate requirements to the leading job boards and industry specific websites and publications. Embracing social media has allowed us to supplement this activity with job posts direct to Twitter and Facebook (alongside other social networks) which opens new doors of opportunity. By posting job roles directly to the newsfeeds of Facebook and Twitter subscribers we can keep job hunters informed of brand new positions as and when they are announced. This allows us to reach prospective candidates- even when they’re engaging in social interaction with friends as opposed to actively job hunting. This format also makes it easier for people to share details of these positions with friends who they think may be interested.

In a similar way, active engagement with Linked-In puts relevant roles in front of relevant candidates based on their interests, experience and location. The more business-centric nature of Linked-In also means that whilst online recruitment through Facebook and Twitter reaches people when they’re most likely visiting the site during leisure time: Linked-In interaction is more commonly undertaken whilst actively seeking fresh employment opportunities. Essentially, social media recruitment methods are effective at all times of day.

The advent of Smartphones such as the I-Phone, BlackBerry and Android based handsets has also meant that people don’t only interact with social media platforms when in front of a computer – but whenever and wherever they fancy. This additional reach simply adds to the potential and effectiveness of social media interaction as a tool for online recruitment.

When we claim to stretch our tentacles out to uncover the perfect applicants – we truly mean it, and social media helps us to do this. Although Facebook, Twitter and their ilk aren’t yet the most effective means of finding new employees; they are an indispensible tool which will only gain importance over time and we’re proud to have brought them on-board alongside our other more established methods sooner rather than later.

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Posted in Blue Octopus, News, Recruiters |

Prepare For Growth in 2011

January 11th, 2011 by Jamie Rock

For many companies 2011 is something of a ‘make or break’ year. With the recession finally making way for a time of potential growth, now is the time for ambitious organisations to push for expansion, growth and success. An essential aspect of corporate success lies in the recruitment of the best possible staff to help drive the company forward and cope with increased demand and pressure.

Given the cuts and imminent job losses in the public sector, relatively high volume of redundancies in the private sector and ever growing population of university graduates; there are currently an abundance of highly trained, skilled and experienced candidates for all manner of job positions. In addition to the availability of so many individuals who are currently out of employment, the beginning of January is historically the most active time of year for job applicants (as a consequence of New Year’s resolutions amongst other things) – meaning that the opportunity to find the best possible new recruit for your organisation is currently at its peak.

With this wealth of available talent you need the means to source the best candidates to bring through to the interview stage of the process. This can be an incredibly time consuming task – particularly given the large number of applications employers are currently receiving for their positions. In order to uncover the best possible individuals for the job, the use of a cutting edge recruitment organisation like Blue Octopus is often the most effective means approach. Not only are we experts in writing job adverts and distributing them to the right places, but also highly experienced when it comes to analysing CVs and applications in order to find the best possible candidates to put forward to interview.

In order to provide the best possible value for our services we practice flat fee recruitment (otherwise known as fixed fee recruitment) which does away with placement fees, offering a fresh approach for which a one off, standard fee is charged – regardless of the salary of the role being recruited. This form of recruitment means that it costs the same low fee to source a new director as it does anyone else: potentially saving thousands of pounds compared to more the old-fashioned practices and charges of some recruitment agencies. As well as charging incredibly low fees, we also operate strictly on behalf of our clients – candidates are not kept on file and shipped out over and over again, each campaign is fresh and targeted to get the best possible people for every position. This client-focused service is backed up by extensive industry experience and cutting edge technology such as our innovative Engage platform which seamlessly integrates your recruitment campaigns into your Human Resources activity.

Capitalising on the opportunities presented by the economic and employment landscape at the beginning of 2011 could well be the catalyst for your organisation’s continued success well into the next decade and beyond. If you would like to discuss what we can do for you then please get in touch.

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Posted in News, Recruiters, Recruitment |

Online Recruitment Basics – A Glossary

November 8th, 2010 by Jamie Rock

Much like numerous other industries, those who operate within recruitment tend to use language and terminology which to an outsider may be a little confusing. At Blue Octopus we do our best to do away with jargon to ensure absolute transparency, but there are some terms and phrases which it would make sense to define…just to be certain. Although some of these terms are for the most part self-explanatory we’d like to take this opportunity to outline precisely what is meant by some of the terminology which is central to our organisation:

Flat Fee Recruitment/Fixed Fee Recruitment

Flat fee recruitment and fixed fee recruitment mean essentially the same thing: that you pay a one off fee for your recruitment campaign. Whilst many recruitment agencies will charge a percentage of the salary offered to a successful candidate (or indeed candidates if more than one is employed)- a company who provide fixed or flat fee recruitment will charge a one-off set fee at the outset of the campaign, regardless of the salary of the successful candidate and the number of people taken on as a result of the recruitment drive. Not only does this form of recruitment cost considerably less but also ensures there aren’t any unexpected or additional charges involved with the process. At Blue Octopus we’re proud to offer an unparalleled recruitment service which ensures quality and incredible value.

Jobsites/Job Boards

Jobsites and Job Boards are one of the cornerstones of modern recruitment. These gigantic websites serve as a place where recruiters can advertise their roles and candidates can submit their job applications. Submitting a role to a job board can be incredibly costly when performed on a one off or intermittent basis – the cost of advertising a job on a number of these websites will generally cost considerably more than employing a flat fee recruitment organisation to do this for you as a part of their service. In addition to saving you money, a highly regarded company such as Blue Octopus will also have extensive expertise in wording jobsite adverts in the most effective manner to induce higher levels of interest and of course take the hassle out of the entire recruitment process.

Engage Technology

Engage Technology is our unique, powerful and easy to use family of web based recruitment systems. All clients of Blue Octopus are provided with full access to this useful tool – allowing them to effectively manage their recruitment requirements 24 hours a day. Engage Recruitment Technology has been developed to ensure that Human Resources Professionals can engage with the recruitment process as and when required and ultimately streamline their administrative tasks.

Octopus

An octopus is a bilaterally symmetric cephalopod mollusc (in the order Octopoda). They have eight tentacles and are proven to be amongst the most intelligent of all invertebrates. This isn’t however particularly relevant – to find out more about the Blue Octopus simply give us a call.

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Posted in Blue Octopus, Recruitment |

Job Hunting Tips

October 25th, 2010 by Jamie Rock

Following on from the great response to our first interview with Director Liam Coleman I asked him for some snippets of advice about taking some of the stress and hassle out of job hunting. Given the current economic climate and widespread worries with regard to the job market, many are likely to have become disheartened in their search for a new job. Hopefully these pointers will cast a little light on where people often go wrong and help you to increase your chances of ultimately landing that dream job:

What advice would you give to someone struggling to secure their ideal job?

Firstly you have to decide what you really want to do; the type of job where you will not be clock watching but instead embrace and enjoy the experience on a daily basis. We can all say we want to be this and that when we are young, but rarely realise what is specifically involved in this aspirational role. Once you have made a firm decision based on commitment to the industry and role, you need to apply for vacancies in a dedicated way. Search the careers sites, speak with experts like ourselves to look through what is available and when finding something that is of keen interest to you, make sure you apply in as much detail as you possibly can – really selling yourself as a product. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a tryer and people who are chasing that ideal job need to put that extra effort in to succeed. You can always seek work experience to help you gain the skills you require – this will strengthen your overall value to the prospective employer.

In your experience, where do people tend to go wrong when writing their CV?

It’s a tough one to call as we are all individuals. However I see so many CV’s on an everyday basis and the majority can roll into one it seems. I believe people should make their CV as individual as possible. It’s never going to change in terms of including your experience, qualifications etc but you really need to put your own stamp on what is your own product brochure. Opposed to it looking bland why not be creative? We all have people who can help us be that little more creative so seek assistance in putting your CV together if you struggle at any stage. Be different and stand out from the crowd.

Do you have any advice for people due to attend a job interview in the near future?

Always remember that it is a two way process. They are interviewing you and you are interviewing them. Always prepare thoroughly and always answer the interviewer’s questions in relevant, good detail. At the same time make sure you ask the right questions that mean something to you too; not just the run of the mill questions. If you are focussed on building a career then ask what career opportunities they can provide you with. Last but not least – always listen throughout and take a moment to understand any questions or observations before responding. Too many people don’t listen and enter auto pilot mode – Will you stand out doing that? Possibly not!



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Posted in Blue Octopus, Recruitment |

Recruitment Outsourcing: An Introduction

October 22nd, 2010 by Jamie Rock

Recruitment outsourcing is the utilisation of a specialist external organisation for the sourcing and hiring of staff. Their task is to perform all aspects of the recruitment process; from profiling through to the advancement of candidates to the interview stage. Increasing numbers of businesses are turning to external recruitment companies in order to recruit the best possible new starters to their organisation.

The task of recruiting was historically amongst the duties of the human resources department of an organisation, but many large companies are now looking to outsource this task so that the HR department can focus more upon business strategy and existing personnel management. Small businesses which lack a dedicated human resources function are particularly reliant upon recruitment outsourcing as a means of gaining the best possible new staff with minimum disruption to their day to day operations.

Utilising an external, specialist organisation to perform your recruitment for you brings with it a number of benefits:

Lower Cost

Advertising for a position yourself can be an extremely costly endeavour. Just having your job advert listed on one job board can cost several hundred pounds – and having an advert put into the local paper can cost considerably more. When utilising an external recruitment organisation, your job advert is pushed out through their carefully researched and highly effective channels as part of your fee. Flat fee recruitment in particular represents incredible value in terms of the total cost of the service.

Faster Sourcing

Given that a dedicated recruitment agency is an expert in their field and fully geared towards highly effective recruitment practices: they will almost certainly perform the task of recruiting for a role considerably faster than you could do so in-house.

Higher Quality of Candidates

Not only will a recruitment specialist be able to source candidates very quickly, but will also make maximum use of their experience, networks and contacts to find the best possible people for the job.

Improved Time Efficiency

Outsourcing your recruitment requirements avoids the need to allocate your own time or that of another member of staff to the task of sourcing candidates. If your company doesn’t have a fulltime human resources function then this is a particularly strong argument for bringing a recruitment company on board.

Whether you are looking to recruit regularly, on an ad hoc basis or indeed only very rarely; it is well worth considering outsourcing. If you would like to discuss your recruitment requirements with industry experts then please don’t hesitate to give Blue Octopus a call.

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Posted in Blue Octopus, Recruitment |